Crisis-hit Tokyo Electric to cut top exec pay by half

TOKYO (Reuters) – Tokyo Electric Power said it would cut the total compensation of its president, chairman and other top executives by half as it grapples with the world’s worst nuclear crisis in 25 years at its Fukushima Daiichi plant.

The company, which is seeking government help to foot a massive bill to compensate local citizens and businesses surrounding the plant, said it would also cut the annual salary of general staff by 20 percent.

The wage reductions are part of a broader restructuring that is expected to include job cuts and asset sales, and could be announced as early as this week.

According to a company filing, the average total compensation of 19 internal directors was 37 million yen ($452,074) in the financial year ended in March 2010.

The crisis at Fukushima Daiichi has had a wide-ranging impact on the economy and financial markets.

Earlier on Monday, Dai-ichi Mutual Life Insurance said it would fall short of its net profit estimate for the year ended in March by 62 percent, hurt by a roughly $2 billion valuation loss on its massive share portfolio.

Dai-ichi is Tokyo Electric’s largest shareholder with a stake of about 4 percent.

While the insurer did not name the shares on which it suffered losses, a source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters its write-down on Tokyo Electric stock came to about 100 billion yen. The source asked not to be named because the information was not public.

Tokyo Electric’s shares have lost about three-fourths of their value since the March 11 earthquake and tsunami ripped through the Fukushima Daiichi plant, causing radiation leaks and a government-ordered evacuation of residents near the plant.